Corporate Regrets?
#81
I see the seniority-based system as a blinder way, and protects incompetent people from successful people.
Last question, is being a regional lifer better? Not everyone will be selected at DL, UA, AA; so the good options start getting harder to find. Good corporates have got to beat the best to middlin' regionals.
GF
Last edited by galaxy flyer; 12-20-2014 at 12:59 PM.
#82
#85
I stand by it. When I started flying 91 corporate it was one of those one-in-a-million, four leaf clover, best kept secrets in aviation. When I left the SAME 91 operator it had changed so significantly and over such a short period of time that, with the exception of pay, it had become worst than the worst regional job I had ever held. Changed on a dime and there was no contract to prevent them from doing so. They changed the game AND the rules. Job security went from sterling to precarious.
The only thing they didn't screw with was pay. On the contrary they threw more money at us every few years to keep us quiet. Only problem is that money is a lousy motivator. It works just long enough for people to become accustomed to their new quality of life - then they realize the underlying problems still exist.
Here's my issue with part 91. When it's good, it's better than the best airline gig. When it's bad, it can be as bad as the worst. And those can be the same job! Management changes or cultural changes can result in flight department degradation or closure. Unlike an accountant who can go across town and find another job if he loses this one, pilots lack that portability. In most cases a job change means uprooting the family and moving.
When one of our pilots - a 30 year veteran hired by the company founder - was unceremoniously let go in a round of layoffs I realized I couldn't stay. How would I be able to compete for another job if the same happened to me when I was 50 or 55 and the same happened to me?
I wished that I had come to the realization sooner. I needed to go back to the airlines where I at least knew the rules to the game. Your number is your number. It isn't personal. I loved part 91 flying. I miss it a lot! But I don't regret my decision. In fact, over 10% of those pilots have left the department - some to other corporate gigs, and a few others to the airlines. I'm in good company. Pilots who realized that the golden handcuffs weren't a good enough reason to allow ourselves to be treated with such disregard.
The only thing they didn't screw with was pay. On the contrary they threw more money at us every few years to keep us quiet. Only problem is that money is a lousy motivator. It works just long enough for people to become accustomed to their new quality of life - then they realize the underlying problems still exist.
Here's my issue with part 91. When it's good, it's better than the best airline gig. When it's bad, it can be as bad as the worst. And those can be the same job! Management changes or cultural changes can result in flight department degradation or closure. Unlike an accountant who can go across town and find another job if he loses this one, pilots lack that portability. In most cases a job change means uprooting the family and moving.
When one of our pilots - a 30 year veteran hired by the company founder - was unceremoniously let go in a round of layoffs I realized I couldn't stay. How would I be able to compete for another job if the same happened to me when I was 50 or 55 and the same happened to me?
I wished that I had come to the realization sooner. I needed to go back to the airlines where I at least knew the rules to the game. Your number is your number. It isn't personal. I loved part 91 flying. I miss it a lot! But I don't regret my decision. In fact, over 10% of those pilots have left the department - some to other corporate gigs, and a few others to the airlines. I'm in good company. Pilots who realized that the golden handcuffs weren't a good enough reason to allow ourselves to be treated with such disregard.
#87
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2014
Posts: 473
#88
Zap,
Strokes for folks, I guess. I don't disagree with your facts about the two, I just came to different conclusions. I did 91/135 before going to EAL where I learned the clarity of 91 corporates was great. At EA, the opposition wasn't just the company, but the union, the courts and the pilots who had different goals and a majority of the votes. Besides the seniority number, I had no control on my career; my efforts were worthless at influencing my future.
You want to know the "rules"? Well, if nothing else, the airlines have proved there are "no rules" save what the company and the bankruptcy courts want to give you and you will have no say in the matter. Worst, your seniority number isn't protection, as much as it is an anchor that chains you to one employer. You can't make a career change at 52, if the situation requires. The one phrase I deeply remember at EA is "we're just along for the ride". March, 1989 convinced me never to be in that situation again.
I've "fired" five employers when they failed to meet my goals or failed to offer reasonable compensation. The last was at 52, 3 years short of a civil service retirement as a full-timer in the Reserves. It was the best decision of my life. Life's too short to have someone else run it.
That said, I'm in the Northeast, so there are opportunities always on offer and I haven't moved in 30 years.
GF
Strokes for folks, I guess. I don't disagree with your facts about the two, I just came to different conclusions. I did 91/135 before going to EAL where I learned the clarity of 91 corporates was great. At EA, the opposition wasn't just the company, but the union, the courts and the pilots who had different goals and a majority of the votes. Besides the seniority number, I had no control on my career; my efforts were worthless at influencing my future.
You want to know the "rules"? Well, if nothing else, the airlines have proved there are "no rules" save what the company and the bankruptcy courts want to give you and you will have no say in the matter. Worst, your seniority number isn't protection, as much as it is an anchor that chains you to one employer. You can't make a career change at 52, if the situation requires. The one phrase I deeply remember at EA is "we're just along for the ride". March, 1989 convinced me never to be in that situation again.
I've "fired" five employers when they failed to meet my goals or failed to offer reasonable compensation. The last was at 52, 3 years short of a civil service retirement as a full-timer in the Reserves. It was the best decision of my life. Life's too short to have someone else run it.
That said, I'm in the Northeast, so there are opportunities always on offer and I haven't moved in 30 years.
GF
#89
On Reserve
Joined APC: Jan 2015
Position: PIC
Posts: 21
Corporate Regrets?
I've done 121, fractional and now corporate for the last 5 years, no complaints, good pay and loads of days off!!....if I ever loose this job, I'll stick with corporate, I have no desire to be pilot # 13999 or so on the list....
Good luck!
Good luck!
#90
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2014
Posts: 473
Zap,
Strokes for folks, I guess. I don't disagree with your facts about the two, I just came to different conclusions. I did 91/135 before going to EAL where I learned the clarity of 91 corporates was great. At EA, the opposition wasn't just the company, but the union, the courts and the pilots who had different goals and a majority of the votes. Besides the seniority number, I had no control on my career; my efforts were worthless at influencing my future.
You want to know the "rules"? Well, if nothing else, the airlines have proved there are "no rules" save what the company and the bankruptcy courts want to give you and you will have no say in the matter. Worst, your seniority number isn't protection, as much as it is an anchor that chains you to one employer. You can't make a career change at 52, if the situation requires. The one phrase I deeply remember at EA is "we're just along for the ride". March, 1989 convinced me never to be in that situation again.
I've "fired" five employers when they failed to meet my goals or failed to offer reasonable compensation. The last was at 52, 3 years short of a civil service retirement as a full-timer in the Reserves. It was the best decision of my life. Life's too short to have someone else run it.
That said, I'm in the Northeast, so there are opportunities always on offer and I haven't moved in 30 years.
GF
Strokes for folks, I guess. I don't disagree with your facts about the two, I just came to different conclusions. I did 91/135 before going to EAL where I learned the clarity of 91 corporates was great. At EA, the opposition wasn't just the company, but the union, the courts and the pilots who had different goals and a majority of the votes. Besides the seniority number, I had no control on my career; my efforts were worthless at influencing my future.
You want to know the "rules"? Well, if nothing else, the airlines have proved there are "no rules" save what the company and the bankruptcy courts want to give you and you will have no say in the matter. Worst, your seniority number isn't protection, as much as it is an anchor that chains you to one employer. You can't make a career change at 52, if the situation requires. The one phrase I deeply remember at EA is "we're just along for the ride". March, 1989 convinced me never to be in that situation again.
I've "fired" five employers when they failed to meet my goals or failed to offer reasonable compensation. The last was at 52, 3 years short of a civil service retirement as a full-timer in the Reserves. It was the best decision of my life. Life's too short to have someone else run it.
That said, I'm in the Northeast, so there are opportunities always on offer and I haven't moved in 30 years.
GF
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